Why not just crate him in a cozy comfy space and have him be in the same room as you all...until you've pottied him? Then he can run around and play with guests for a little while till you crate him again... The crate helps his already matured bladder "hold it" till he's been asked if he wants to go potty. I totally disagree with what you are suggesting...unless something is wrong with his bladder and you don't have time to deal with it cus of so many xmas guests. It's a cope out...even under the best of intentions. Sorry, but c'mon!!!! I can't be the only one astounded by this comment. When we choose to have a puppy we essentially choose the "consequences" of having to take the time to deal with their training and potty needs. You offered a solution to help her not worry about urine on the floor and/or having to anticipate her dogs' need to go out to potty, yes? I suppose I'm never going to be this open minded (when it takes 3 minutes to put the dog out). :thumbdown

I appreciate all the kind tips and advice given here. That is the reason I bring my questions here to the forum. While everyone has their own way of dealing with training issues I remain pretty open minded to suggestions. I will of course follow some and disregard the ones that will not work for me. That does not say that I disagree with anyone and I certainly will not disrespect or publically put down their advice. I am more than willing to let Wallee out as often as necessary. I normally go outside with him every time as well so that I can see if he has indeed done his business. He is pretty good so far and we don't have any accidents in the house. I am really just looking for ways to wean him from his pads.
Thank you all once again for your assortment of great ideas.

I forgother to mention, our biggest frustration with him going outside is his desire to bug to go out many times just to route around the yard looking for bits of leaves/moss/grass to munch on. During those episodes I spend the entire time telling him NO, Drop it then finally get frustrated and take him back in. I swear we are outside at least 25 times a day on top of his walk twice a day.:rolleyes:

Haha, look how smart he is! He knows how to get your undivided attention. This is going to turn into a (tho cute...) horrible HABIT. Time to take his training backwards to his younger months...and hopefully you pottied on leash. If not, it's now TIME. Leash him and take him out each and every time. Those times that he's outside unleashed he can see the difference between time to play and time to eliminate. If he walks you all over your yard, he's not getting it. It takes a few seconds to eliminate. I'd consider finding a few words to repeat to him each time you take him out for the task of pottying him. I like to say, "Go quickly", or "Go peepee". Say what ever you're comfortable with and stand in ONE SPOT. let him walk all around you and be patient... It's a waiting game. He's smart and he'll get it. He'll get and try to "unget it" too...to try and redirect you, but you need to have some boundaries with him so he can become an easy dog to take out. (Just my opinion of course). Keep treats in your pocket when you do this and the second he eliminates...say "YES, good boy!!!" and pop one of those suckers into his mouth. How happy a game is THIS...he'll love going out and showing you what a good boy he is for one of those tasty babies. ;)

I believe you are right on the going back to the leash thing. :( It took me months to get my husband to totally escape proof the yard so I could let him outside without a leash but I can see how the little monster has taken advantage of that and learned that I cannot run as far as him. Sometimes he will even follow me to the door after seeing then "bolt" back to the backyard so he can stay out and munch on things. Even sometimes his favourite treats won't bring him in.......sigh....back to the drawing board..

It's not really as bad as "back to the drawing board", honestly. He has a wonderfully safe yard and that's awesome for when he wants to play... Look at it as tho it's a new training task for him to be able to "perform". Like a "sit"...or a "down". I use it for when I want to go for leash walks with my dogs. I don't want to have to pick up after them so I potty them first. they get their business out of the way and off we go. Here in Canada there's a ton of snow (already) and kids like to play in it, especially the high peaks that develop over time on the side of the road that the snowplow created...if I let my dog pee (yellow snow...), I'm going to piss off a few neighbors with young kids. I don't want to be that neighbor. See...? There ARE reasons to teach your dog to pee on command. I can list a ton more...but I'm sure you get the jest of it. :aimeeyork

Oh man. I remember the first rain storm show down with Hulk. I KNEW he had to go, but there were no more potty pads. I took him out, stood in the rain, he just looked at me with those sad little eyes. Back and forth back and forth. Finally, it was time for bed, still raining. Desperate, I grabbed a potty pad and tried to get him to go there. No dice.

In the end, I stood out there in rain gear and waited him out. Luckily it wasn't a *heavy* rain storm, but it worked! He got lots of treats and happy dances.

The cold weather hasn't been as big of a problem as the rain, I find in the cold he dashes out and dashes in (have to watch him to make sure he takes care of all business before dashing in, tho :rolleyes:).

It sounds like you're on the right track. It's easy to get a little relaxed....because it is a lot of work, but it's worth it in the long run. And don't worry, you'll get there. Some days it feels like it'll never happen, but it does :)

Thank you everyone for believing in me. I had a puppy years ago that was so easy to potty train. I am sure that it had a lot to do with being much younger and with no stresses and so fewer options available. (There were no crates and no pee pads). I got that puppy when we were living in an apt and he was confined to the kitchen with newspapers. The day we moved into the house and I confined him to the kitchen he realized there was a door there to the outside and started asking to go out right away. The rest was history and he was only 5 months old then. He remained confined when we were at work untilnhe was 1 and we never looked back.
I had such great intentions with this little one and thought with so many resources and determination that this would be a cake walk. I ended up having surgery within the first week of getting him and recently I lost my job and now with the Christmas season upon us which is a dreadful reminder of my oldest son being deceased, and the overwhelming amount of information out there I have probably let my own emotions get in the way of training this guy the right way.
Today I am making myself get wrapping done, praying the rain lets up so I can walk Wallee and have blocked off the place the pad used to be in the living room and moved the pad almost to the door. I will be watching him like a hawk and if I can't, the gates will go up and he will go into the kitchen. I will take him out VERY VERY frequently and pray that we make a little progress today. Since we only have 4 days till we cook for a big crowd, I will be happy if we at least get the pad removed permanently from the living room and the idea in his head that outside is where it needs to happen. The treat bag of liver snacks is right by the door for reward EVERY TIME he pottys outside today.
Wish me luck.

Yep! They do figure that out in a hurry. I just give in and go with it. Eventually, they do get done with that and stop "lying" about needing to go outside. That's another plus in going ahead and taking them out so frequently, they barely have time to need to falsify a "need" to go out as they are out on schedule again anyway. That two weeks of all those visits is just what I find works well for me and the dogs I've trained as once they are trained and that frequent going outside is established, it's ingrained in their heads that outside is the "it" place to leave your pee and poo where the world can be impressed so they hold with that training very, very well. There are so many ways to successfully housebreak a dog and as long as you are watchful of them and consistent, just about anything will work once they learn what it is you want of them. Good luck!

I am very proud of this little guy today. We managed to make it through an entire day potting outside. There were many trips outside (he even went out in the rain), an hour long walk and a short stint in the kitchen as we came in soaked from the wet grass. He helped me wrap presents and came running back inside every time I called him and handed him a treat. I move his new snoozer seat to the place in the living room where the pad normally was and he has been sleeping in it. I even treated him to some boiled chicken for supper for being such a good boy. He is totally conked out now on the couch beside me however he and I will be making one more stop out back on our way to bed.
Sweet little soul, I think he is going to get this quick. He even lost another molar today and I thought they were already all gone.
I think he (and I) will sleep well tonight and be ready for day 2 tomorrow.

Wallee is doing good!!!!!!!!!! I'm proud of him, too!

Hi have two babies. A five year old trained to potty outside, and learned very fast. My nine month: old girl was trained on pads inside. Transitioning her to outside was very difficult too. She would do the same, goes back to her spot in the corner of kitchen eating area. Kids said its gross, so tried taking it away and put her outside to potty. She would just go outside to play and explore. Not to potty. I find her having accidents on little rugs around house. Put a framed potty elsewhere, and she won't use it. So I take her out to potty every 30 minutes too. I think she's got it down now, but not so sure. I know its so frustrating at times!

I'm sure I speak for everyone here when I say GOOD LUCK! You have success on your side too cus dogs will always learn new things at any age...no matter when you start training. They're little sponges. Also, be happy he's a tiny little yorkie and not a big G I G A N T I C great dane...(little dog, little mess). Try not to stress you'll do great! Happy holidays :)

Uh oh...Wallee had an "oopsie". Mommy's fault. We have been doing great all day and mommy accidentally dozed off. Wallee has been eating snow all day and he was napping beside mommy and she dozed off. When she woke uo Wallee was sniffing under the Xmas tree and started to pee. Mommy said uh uh and quickly jumped up and took him outside. He immediately finished what he needed to do and mommy cleaned with the enzyme cleaner.....We are not out of the woods yet. ;)

My babies hate bad weather so for those days we keep pads in the garage:p works great for us lol.